I don’t need a thousand words, just one, because demons come with a picture all their own. If you’ve ever seen Legend, you’ll know the image I mean. Massive. Red. Big teeth. Black horns. Sardonic expressions. Interesting eyebrows.

Demon.

It’s the image of Satan, Lord of the Demons in the Christian mythology. It’s interesting to note that Satan was the most loved and revered of the angels, the highest of the host of heaven, before going bad.

This blog post is about demons. It’s also part of the blog tour promoting my newly released novel, Matilda Raleigh: Invictus.Invictus is a steampunk sword and sorcery cross-over, so you’re probably wondering why I thought Demons would be a good subject to promote it.

Invictus has two demons in it, and both have roles that see them firmly in centre stage. On the one side, the side of the good guys, is a demon I fabricated called Ba’al Shamut. On the side of evil is Sephyr.

In Christian mythology, Vepar (also called Separ) is a duke of Hell who takes the form of a demonic mermaid. Yep, mermaid – I was a whole bit of what the heck, too, lol. In Invictus, Sephyr is a Duchess of Hell magically bound to Britain, and the demon of the ocean and sea. She’s a demonic mermaid.

So, my book has demons in it, and in writing the book demonology was one of my most researched subjects. I have a tonne of notes on it, mostly because I find the whole subject fascinating. And the most fascinating thing about demons, in my mind, is that they are misunderstood.

Let that sink in for a bit.

I’m sorry, but I don’t buy all that demons are bad, angels are glorious crap. I don’t believe in absolute evil, and I don’t believe in absolute good. The only thing I believe in is potentiality. As humans, we all have the potential for good and evil, and I don’t see demons or angels as being different.

Imagine the whole angel/demon thing as a work of fiction you have been asked to critique. Here we have the King of the Elves, an awesome being of ultimate goodness. His elves are ultimately good, too. One day ships arrive carrying humans (this always happens in fantasy. I’m always left perplexed by the idea that the world started after the ships arrived. Most of the time the original land isn’t even named. And after the first load of ships, no one else ever comes. Sorry for the tangent.)

The king of the elves decide that humans are good beings, too. Some elves disagree, and they are instantly changed (either simply by disagreeing, or because he was pissed, and cursed them. Is this a forgiving and merciful king of the elves? Why, yes, it is) into orcs. And become enemies of humanity for all time. Just because, okay?

Yeah, that’s a book I wouldn’t buy. You?

In my fiction, the demons are self-centred, arrogant, power-hungry, and greedy. They embody the seven deadly sins and flaunt the ten commandments. But they aren’t evil. In fact, Lucifer might be in Hell at God’s bidding… because if God is all-knowing, and angels have no free will, then not only did God they would rebel, he made them.

I love the conundrum of God’s ineffable plan (Sorry, I read Good Omen’s too often) and whether or not he wanted the whole conflict.

I think demons and angels are essentially the same ‘species.’ I love stories that examine why there is animosity between the two factions without assigning the moral terms of Good vs Evil. Most disagreements stem from difference of opinion or perspective. Actions can be rationalized by each side as being unfortunately necessary or unduly harsh. Basically, I’d say misunderstood.